The Queen presents royal colours to Australian military college

Despite scorching Australian weather, the Queen did not put a foot wrong
during a visit to a military college parade ground, reports Bonnie Malkin in
Canberra

6:29PM BST 22 Oct 2011

By 10.30am it was warm even in the shade at the parade ground of the Duntroon Royal Military College on the outskirts of Canberra, but there was little shade to be found. In the full sun, the mercury read 27C (80.6F).

Most of the 5000 spectators that had gathered in the morning to watch the Queen present new colours to the college for the fourth time in her reign, tried to protect themselves from the sun by slathering on sun cream, sipping iced water or sheltering under open umbrellas.

Overheated children fussed and cried, even the local bird life seemed upset by the unseasonably warm weather, squawking and flapping in an attempt to cool down.

But in the middle of it all, the Queen showed little sign of being bothered by the heat. Dressed in an electric blue dress, coat, hat and gloves, she toured the sun-drenched parade ground without rushing, appearing utterly unfazed by the weather.

Even when a chair was offered, she sat only briefly, rising again to stand for 15 minutes as the colours were marched past and the military band played.

Her appearance at Duntroon was the monarch’s ninth official engagement in four days, a tall order for many 85-year-olds but, as those who are following the progress of the monarch on her 16th tour of Australia have come to realise, business as usual for the Queen.

Australians have been impressed by the stamina and sprightliness displayed by the royal couple since they touched down in the country on Wednesday.

Far from appearing tired out by the long and gruelling 10,500 mile journey from the other side of the world, both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, now aged 90, have taken to their busy schedule with gusto.

Dimity Clarke, who had travelled from Sydney to watch her son Cameron take part in the military parade and catch a glimpse of the Queen, said she was amazed by the monarch’s reserves of energy.

“My father is in his eighties and he was saying how does she do the amount of things they give her to do? It’s incredible,” Mrs Clarke, 52, said.

“We’re absolutely impressed that she does that trip from Britain so often, it’s bad enough for us with the jetlag.”

Despite speculation that this trip could be the Queen’s final visit Down Under, due to her age and the distance, the royal couple’s schedule during their 10-day visit certainly does not read like the diary of a public figure who needs or wants to take it easy.

During the tour the Queen and Duke will take in four cities in four different states on two sides of the country and attend dozens of different engagements, including two boat rides, a rainforest walk, a football match at an aboriginal college and a traditional Australia barbecue. As well as spending six days in the national capital, the Queen will also meet victims of the deadly Queensland floods during a day trip to Brisbane, visit a new hospital and ride a tram in Melbourne and open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth.

In the three days since they arrived in Australia, the Queen has already squeezed in audiences with the Governor-General, prime minister and leader of the opposition, as well as several public appearances and a even an impromptu trip on a solar-powered golf cart in search of kangaroos to photograph in the grounds of Government House.

Then, on top of her official engagements, she is still carrying out her work as the British head of state, receiving daily government boxes containing documents that must be read and signed.

Buckingham Palace aides have flatly rejected any suggestion that the monarch might be slowing down, saying the Queen has more energy “than a lot of us put together”.

Katy Gallagher, the chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra, has met the royal couple three times since they arrived in the country, greeting them as they stepped off the plane, showing them around the Floriade flower festival, and attending a reception held in honour of the Queen at Parliament House.

Ms Gallagher, 41, said there was nothing to indicate the Queen was drawing away from public duties or saying her final goodbyes to the nation.

“Every time I have had the opportunity to meet them they have both seemed very energetic,” she said.

“I do public functions myself and they are draining, even if you only have one or two, but the Queen and Duke have a very full programme.

“I saw them after they arrived after the longest flight possible and they didn’t miss a step.

“It’s a very difficult flight, changing time zones, but when they landed they looked impeccable, they got off the plane and got straight into official duties, it was no small task at all.”

Ms Gallagher is a member of the Labor Party, which supports moves to sever ties to the British Crown, but her respect and admiration for the Queen is common among those who believe the country will eventually become a republic.

Before the Queen arrived in Australia, a poll showed that support for a republic was at a 23-year low, and, considering the warm welcome given to the royal couple, you could be forgiven for thinking that the real question is not when but if the nation will ever decide to cut its links to the throne.

Michael Keating, the chairman of the Australian Republican Movement, admitted that, these days, Australia becoming a republic is no sure thing.

“Queen Elizabeth is a respected person and it is nice to have her here, but the republic issue shouldn’t be about Queen Elizabeth or the Windsor family, it should be about Australians and what we want for ourselves.”